Curtain rod construction



March 3o, 1937. A, N PASMAN 2,075,052

CURTAIN ROD CONSTRUCTION Filed March 3, 1956 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES atraen CURTAIN ROD CONSTRUCTION Abram N. Pasman, Milford, Conn.

Application March 3,

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in curtain rod constructions.

My invention is especially useful in curtain rods which are used for shower bath curtains v but is not restricted thereto. In prior art constructions it is a common thing for curtain rods to fall down or be parted when the person taking a shower pulled or jerked the curtain either upon entering the shower or leaving it. This same failure is also encountered when other forms of curtains are moved back and forth in use on the rod. The connecting members mostly used now include a tube frictionally held with the adjacent ends of the curtain rod. It is difv cult to obtain a good connection in this way because one curtain rod may be slightly larger than the other and then the curtain rod pulls apart in use. The joining or connecting members so far produced have not proven satisfactory for the above and other reasons.

It has been proposed to thread the inner surfaces of adjacent tubular ends of the curtain rods and then screw a threaded internal tube into these threaded ends but such a construction is too expensive.

According to my invention I provide a construction which is relatively cheap and which securely and positively holds the ends of the curtain rod sections or tubular sections in connected relation. In the form of my invention shown in the drawing I show a connecter tube split or slotted and having a resilient catch which cooperates with bent portions on the ends of the tubular curtain rods or sections. The connecter tube has a cut out portion through which extends a resilient member secured at its ends to the connecter tube, the resilient member having openings for receiving legs bent inwardly at the ends of the sections of the curtain rod or the tubular sections. When the parts are assembled the legs on the curtain rod sections force the resilient member in and further movement causes the legs to catch in the openings in the resilient member to hold the parts securely together. If it is desired to disassemble the curtain rod, it is only necessary to push in on the resilient member and then to pull the curtain rod sections apart. From this it will be seen that I have provided a connecter tube which securely and positively holds the parts together and which will not permit the curtain rod sections to pull apart in use. In the drawing I have shown one form of curtain rod but other forms and shapes may be used such as a straight curtain rod, or a curtain rod having a straight portion and another portion at an angle to the straight portion. My inven- 1936, Serial No. 66,778

tion is not to be restricted to any of these forms shown or enumerated nor to curtain rods, as it includes a connecter tube which is useful for connecting the sections of curtain rods of any :Iorm or to other tubular sections.

My invention can be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l represents a perspective view of a curtain rod embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 represents an enlarged plan view of a curtain rod embodying my invention, parts being broken away to facilitate the disclosure;

Fig. 3 represents a vertical longitudinal section taken through a joint of a curtain rod providedZ with my new connecter member;

Fig. 4 represents a vertical transverse taken substantially on line 5 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 represents a vertical transverse taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

section section Fig. 6 represents a perspective of a resilient element which is secured to the connecter member, and

Fig. 7 represents a perspective of one end of a section of the curtain rod showing the downwardly bent ear.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character i0 designates a curtain rod formed of tubular sections, and held together by a connecter tube l2 positioned within the sections. As shown in Fig. 2 there are two connecter members at the bend but in some instances only one will be necessary and I do not want to be limited to the showing in the drawing as that is for the purpose of illustration only.

I will rst describe the construction oi the connecter tube member. This connecter member is preferably of metal and is of approximately the same size as the interior of the curtain rod sections and is formed with a continuous slot I4 to preferably provide a resilient construction which has some frictional engagement with the interior of the curtain rod sections. This connecter member has a groove i6 which extends for the length of the connecter member and which is formed by pressing the metal of the connecter member inwardly. The groove I6 has the sides i8 and bottom wall 29. See Figs. 3 and 4. Substantially in the middle of the connecter member the material at the top of the connecter member adjacent the groove I6 is cut away to provide an opening 22 as shown in Fig. 2 to receive a portion of a resilient catch member. Secured to the under side of groove I 6 is the resilient catch member 24 having a portion 26 bent outwardly and extending into the opening 22. This catch member is an elongated strip member having its ends connected or secured to the under side of the groove I6 by rivets 28. As shown in the drawing there are two rivets at each end but the number may vary. Instead of rivets, I may solder or weld the ends of the catch member to the conne-eter member to secure the catch member to the connecter member. Intermediate its ends the catch member has the outwardly bent 10 portion 26 which has inclined sides 30 and flat section 32. The flat section 32 has ears 34 struck out therefrom. The inclined sides 30 assist in assembling the rod sections. These ears are formed by cutting the material on three lines and bending the material out. When the material is bent out, openings 36 are formed and it will be noted from the drawing, especially Fig. 6 that the ears 34 are bent toward each other and are adjacent each other and the openings 36 are spaced with the ears therebetween. Between the ears there is connecting metal as at 31 to form a means whereby the catch member may be depressed to disassemble the parts. Because the catch member is secured at its ends, the middle portion of the catch member is resiliently mounted and may be pressed inwardly when the parts are being assembled or disassembled.

The adjacent ends of the curtain rod sections are provided with inwardly bent legs 40 which are formed by slitting the ends of the tube as at 42, 44 and then the material of the tube between the slits is bent inwardly. These legs 46 are of about the same width as the groove I6 formed in the connecter member so that the groove will receive the legs and will act as a guide for the curtain rod sections when the sections are being assembled over the connecter member. The space formed by slits 42, 44 is slightly wider than ears 34 to receive the ears when the rod sections 40 are brought together and the ends of the tube sections can be brought closely together. The legs 40 will ride on inclined sides 30 of the catch member to force the central portion 26 of the catch member in during assembly of the sections. In use the curtain rod sections may be put on one at a time or both together. When one curtain rod section is placed with its leg 40 in the groove I6 of the connecter member and then moved along it encounters the inclined or slanting side 3i) of the resilient portion 26 of the catch member 24. Further movement of the curtain rod section o1' of the connecter member presses the portion 26 of the connecter down and the leg 40 rides along on the inclined side 30 and onto the flat portion 32 of the catch member. Still further movement causes leg 46 to be forced into the opening 36 ofthe catch member and the catch member will spring into its normal position as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. During this latter movement the ear 34 acts as a stop for further movement of leg 40. In the same way the other curtain rod section may be secured to the other end of the connecter member or the two sections can both be moved into position simultaneously. To separate the curtain rod sections it is only necessary to press in on connecting portion 31 of the central portion 26 of the catch member between the ears 34 and pull both sections or either section until the legs 40 are clear of openings 36. A space for permitting the insertion of any tool for this purpose is provided by the bending back of legs 4E) as shown at 42,44 in Fig. 2.

From the above description it will be seen that I have set forth a construction which is cheap to manufacture, easy to assemble and disassemble and which operates to hold the parts of a curtain rod securely and positively.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described, including, tubular sections, means for connecting said sections, said means including a tubular member mounted Within said tubular sections, said tubular member being provided with a resilient member having openings, legs bent in from adjacent ends of said tubular sections adapted to be received by said openings in said resilient member for securely holding said tubular sections together.

2. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, means for connecting said sections, said means including a tubular member mounted within said tubular sections, said tubular member being provided with a resilient member having openings, legs bent in from adjacent ends of said tubular sections adapted to be received by said openings in said resilient member for securely holding said tubular sections together, said tubular member having a groove for guiding said rod sections While they are being assembled.

3. A device of the character described, including tubular sections and means for connecting said tubular sections, said means including a connecter member adapted to be received within said tubular sections, said connecter member being provided with a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member, the portion of said catch e member between said ends being resilient and having openings, said tubular sections having legs adapted to be releasably held by said openings in said catch member.

4. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, a connecter member having an opening, a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member and having a resilient middle portion extending through said opening,

said middle portion having openings, said tubular.

sections each having an inwardly bent leg adapted to be received and held within said openings in said middle portion.

5. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, a connecter member having an opening, a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member and having a resilient middle portion extending through said opening, said middle portion having openings, said tubular sections each having an inwardly bent leg adapted to be received and held within said openings in said middle portion, said connecter member being tubular and split and having a groove for guiding said legs.

6. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, a connecter member having an opening, a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member and having a resilient middle portion extending through said opening, said middle portion having ears bent out to form openings, said tubular sections each having an inwardly bent leg adapted to be received in said openings in said middle portion, said ears serving as stops or abutments for said legs.

'7. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, a connecter member having an opening, a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member and having a resilient middle portion extending through said opening, said middle portion being bent out and having slanting sides leading to a flat section, said flat section having openings, said tubular sections each having an inwardly bent leg adapted to ride on said slanting sides and force said middle portion down when the parts are being assembled until said legs are received by said openings in said at section to releasably hold the parts in assembled relation.

8. A device of the character described, including, in combination, tubular sections each having a leg formed by slitting one end of the section and bending it in, a connecter member having an opening, a catch member secured at its ends to said connecter member and having a resilient middle portion extending through said opening, said middle portion having spaced ears and openings, said ears serving as stops and said openings serving to receive said legs on said tubular sections to releasably hold the parts in assembled relation, the space formed by bending the legs on said tubular sections permitting the insertion of a tool to press down on the middle portion of said catch member between said ears to release said tubular sections.

9. A device of the character described, including tubular sections, means for connecting said sections, said means including a connecter member mounted Within said tubular sections, said connecter member having a resilient member provided With receiving and catch means, projections extending inwardly from the end portions of said tubular'sections and adapted to be received by said receiving and catch means on said resilient member `for securely holding said tubular sections together.

ABRAM N. PASMAN. 

